Entries by Administrator

Barrow County has hired Dan Schultz as its new director of planning and community development following unanimous approval by the county board of commissioners Tuesday night.
Schultz has spent the past four and a half years as the county’s geographic information systems (GIS) administrator and floodplain manager, working under the county director of economic and community development, Guy Herring, who left the county in May for a similar position with Oconee County.
Schultz’s salary for Fiscal Year 2019 will be $76,120 — above the entry-level salary of $72,496 for his position classification and below the roughly $92,000 salary Herring was paid.
Schultz was one of 30 applicants and five selected for an interview for the position, which opened in late April.
Two candidates withdrew their names from consideration before the interviews, county manager Mike Renshaw said.
Prior to his time with Barrow County, Schultz held various positions with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency. He also has more than six years’ experience as a planning and community development director for the City of Chamblee and City of Sugar Hill, and he was a senior planner and interim planning director for Jackson County. Schultz holds a pair of master degrees — one in city planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology and another in public administration from Florida State University.
See more on Tuesday's meeting in the July 25 edition of the Barrow News-Journal.

After Auburn City Council member Robert L. Vogel III, very reluctantly, made a motion to approve a proposed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the wholesale purchase of water from Barrow County at an increased rate, the council voted unanimously to approve the IGA last Thursday. Council member Jay Riemenschneider seconded the motion.
The council discussed the increase wholesale water rates during its monthly work session meeting.
The city currently purchases water from the county at a rate of $2.33 per 1,000 gallons for use in times of drought. But those purchase rates would increase, under a resolution approved July 11 by the Barrow County commissioners, to $4.62 per 1,000 gallons for a minimum average daily volume of 300,000 gallons; $4.11 per 1,000 gallons for 500,000 gallons and $3.56 per 1,000 gallons for 700,000 gallons. Cities that don’t opt into minimum purchase agreements would be charged the county’s industrial rate as published in the annual budget $5.15 per 1,000 gallons for 6- and 8-inch meters in Fiscal Year 2019). County manager Mike Renshaw said July 11 the intent behind the scale was to incentivize cities to purchase more because the more volume the county sells, the lower unit cost it pays to the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority.
County officials have said there is a need for the increase because as of July 1, the county can no longer use special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) proceeds to pay down its $1.2 million annual Bear Creek Reservoir debt service and therefore subsidize water rates.
An IGA between the county and City of Winder would have been required for the practice of the county taking money off the top of SPLOST proceeds to pay down the debt to continue during the new five-year collection period. But that agreement was not reached and Winder and other municipal officials have said the county should instead pay the debt down from its own proceeds.
County officials have pushed back, saying that would undercut funding for other capital projects.
Mayor Linda Blechinger and the entire council voiced their concern about the increased wholesale water rates during last Thursday’s meeting.
“I want it understood that we (Auburn) are not the ones going up on the water rates,” Blechinger said. “It is the county.”
See more in the July 25 edition of the Barrow News-Journal.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp earned a resounding victory over Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial runoff and won by an even bigger margin in Barrow County.
Kemp, who finished with 69.5 percent of the vote statewide, got 79.9 percent in Barrow. He will face Democrat Stacey Abrams, the former House Minority Leader, in November’s general election.
Cagle had been considered the frontrunner to succeed outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal and significantly outraised his rivals.
But the runoff campaign between Cagle and Kemp turned ugly, and Cagle’s prospects were damaged by audio secretly recorded by former GOP candidate Clay Tippins of Cagle discussing policy.
An endorsement from the popular Deal was overshadowed last week when President Donald Trump publicly backed Kemp and Vice President Mike Pence appeared with Kemp in a last-minute campaign event in Macon.
Cagle and Kemp both shared the backing of local leaders in Barrow. Cagle was endorsed by Barrow County Board of Commissioners chairman Pat Graham and Auburn mayor Linda Blechinger. Kemp had the backing of longtime friend and Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, who introduced Kemp at a pair of campaign events.
In other runoff races Tuesday, Geoff Duncan narrowly won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor over David Shafer (50.1 to 49.9 percent).
Shafer got 51.8 percent of the vote in Barrow. Duncan will face Democrat Sarah Griggs Amico in November.
Brad Raffensperger won the Republican nomination for secretary of state with 61.8 percent of the vote over David Belle Isle and will face Democrat John Barrow in the general election.
Raffensperger got 66.5 percent in Barrow.
On the Democratic side, Otha Thornton won the nomination for state school superintendent with 59.1 percent over Sid Chapman and will face Republican incumbent Richard Woods in November. Thornton and Chapman tied in Barrow with 107 votes apiece.

The Winder Downtown Development Authority met Tuesday for the first time since its rejuvenation.
The group, which had not met regularly since 2016, is “just one of those things that’s going to benefit the community,” Maddison Dean, the Winder city clerk, said.
Dean, who joined the city in April, is from Commerce and served on the DDA in Commerce.
Chris Maddox was elected chairman of the board — again — and Rodney Board was named vice chairman.
Dean will serve as secretary-treasurer.
Other members attending the first meeting were Rodney Broach, Deanna Sauls and John Greeson. Sauls owns The Dwelling Home, a downtown business.
The group will have a day of training Aug. 14 at Chateau Elan.
The next meeting of the group will be at 2 p.m. Sept. 18.
Dean told the group Winder is now a Main Street community, which allows it to apply for grants that had not been accessible.
The DDA members talked about the Spooktacular and the 70th annual Christmas parade for much of their meeting.
The Halloween event will be Oct. 26 and the parade is set for Dec. 8.
Members discussed a time for the parade, with general agreement that earlier was better.
Dean said the Spooktacular will have multiple entrances this year to try to reduce wait times.
She said 15 organizations already have registered for booths. About 50 groups had booths for 2017.

On the political scene today, there is a clamor from certain quarters for the government to offer college to all its citizens.
And by the way, it should be with no strings attached — to be exact, free. What a noble idea to espouse! No worry about paying this bill or that charge for future college graduates. Sounds inviting on its surface but, like anything in life, we are always cautioned “you get what you pay for.”

Any appreciation?
Winning the lottery may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Why? First, you got lucky. Secondly, money coming your way was “earned” by you making the herculean effort of going down to the local gas station or convenience store and forking over a couple of bucks. You spent five minutes of your life to gain financial independence.
Now google what happened to the thousands of people who won their state’s lottery. One report said, “Whether they win $500 million or $1 million, about 70 percent of lotto winners lose or spend all their money in five years or less.” The money came too easily and it left the same way. If you had acquired the same amount of greenbacks by hard work, perseverance and dedication, the odds of your keeping your fortune go up dramatically. You have a vested interest developed over the course of years, not just “the luck of the draw.”
Here’s another analogy hitting closer to home. Do you give your children an allowance? If so, is there a list of chores to be completed first before money changes hands? If you gave your kids money with no strings attached, you just failed in one critical aspect of parenting. Your children, going forward, will have less appreciation for the value of money. They didn’t have to put forth any effort, didn’t have to go out of their way, to get legal tender. They just held out their hand.

Common sense
If you give “free college” to every Tom, Dick or Harriet, you’ve just opened up the floodgates. No longer does the family have to sit down and do a cost-to-benefit analysis. Planning on how to work around the challenges moving forward goes by the way side.
New colleges will be popping up all over the place to feed at the public trough.
And do you really think the existing bastions of higher learning will continue to discipline themselves to have lofty teaching ideals, knowing there will now be a never-ending line of individuals coming into their system, all with guaranteed money attached.
My prediction would be many of them will gradually become less concerned about maintaining high standards.
The government pays for college with what? Taxes, right? Taxes from whom? You, the taxpayer. They are taking money from someone who earned it and giving it to someone who just got in line. How can anyone truly appreciate getting tens of thousands of dollars when all they had to do is show up.
Two other concerns come up on my radar. First, just wondering how dedicated will this avalanche of students be when it comes to buckling down and hitting the books?
Secondly, in the long run, how valuable will a college degree be viewed by the business world if everybody, including their brother and sister, can get one?

Your point?
What do all these speculations have to do with taking care of your primary asset? Well, we are talking about a person’s mindset. We are told through all media forms eating right and exercising are paramount to long term health.
Unfortunately, when it comes to one’s health, the general population pays lip service. Three-fourths of we the people are planning on getting around to it later.
Reality often sets in when you wake up on your 50th birthday. You begin to notice the body has become somewhat challenged. Things don’t work as well as they did the day before. The reason: So far, you have invested little time into your health. It wasn’t a priority. The picture is now changing. So, what do you do?
The sad reality is too many of us start looking for that winning lottery ticket, be it a “lose 30 pounds in 30 days” workout video, a supplement which will do the trick or a diet that will transform your body sooner than later.
What can we find out there that will, in short order, turn our health issue around and get us back to “normal?” We end up looking for something to give us immediate results, requiring minimal effort.

Consistency
is the key
What works in life also works for your health — meaning steady, consistent effort over time, committing to a strategy. You may have heard how numerous contestants from “The Biggest Loser” have, after leaving the limelight, regained all the weight they’d previously dropped.
Why? The way they lost the weight was based on an unrealistic methodology. Twelve weeks of intense effort and all will be well! That’s the ticket…not.
Quick fixes rarely accomplish the goal for which they were intended. Mapping out an exercise regimen you know will work is fundamental.
Learning a nutrition plan which makes sense to you (see my “The 80-percent Rules” column) is essential.
The only way you appreciate what you’ve accomplished is through being disciplined. As I remind my clients all the time, when a particular exercise becomes challenging, “If it was easy, anyone could do it.”
Statistics bear out you are far more likely to stick with a program in which you have invested time and resources. As you may have ascertained by now, the hard part will be sticking with it. In other words, you’ve got to earn it!
Good luck and good health!
—
Rick Almand can train you out of Anytime Fitness (Winder and Auburn locations) or in the privacy of your home. He can be contacted at 404-312-9206 or Rick@UltimateBest.net. His website is BabyBoomersSurvivalGuide.net.

Late in last Thursday’s marathon congressional grilling of Peter Strzok, Georgia Republican Rep. Karen Handel called the FBI agent’s testimony “disingenuous.”
That word just about sums up the nearly 10-hour spectacle perfectly. That is, congressional Republicans are being entirely disingenuous when they say they’re in search of the truth and want to get to the bottom of things.
In roughly 21 hours — behind closed doors and in the open — of their badgering of Strzok, who led the FBI’s counterespionage division in 2016 and was heavily involved in both the Clinton email server and Russia-Trump investigations, the Republicans have failed to produce one shred of evidence that his anti-Trump texts to an FBI colleague with whom he was carrying on an extramarital affair led to any decision or action that would taint either of the investigations or alter the facts surrounding them.
This is while they’ve ignored Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s statement that there was no evidence of any such conduct and mostly shrugged at the conclusions from our entire intelligence community that Russia interfered in our 2016 election in an effort to help Donald Trump become president and are actively meddling in the 2018 midterm campaign.
Throughout the morning and early afternoon at Thursday’s joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, Republicans focused on Strzok’s most politically-charged texts, talked over him when he tried to respond and — when they did allow him to talk — ignored his perfectly reasonable explanations and much-needed context he provided.
They declined to ask a single question about the serious threat to our democracy Russia’s actions posed and refused to recognize that an investigation into mishandling of classified information in no way outweighs an investigation into a foreign adversary’s interference in our elections and the willingness on the part of campaign officials and possibly the candidate himself to accept help that was offered. And while continuing to insinuate a Deep State, anti-Trump plot within the FBI, they failed to answer a simple point raised by Strzok. If Strzok and the FBI were so intent on destroying Trump, why did they keep the Trump investigation under wraps?
By mid-afternoon, the Republicans turned to character assassination efforts. Congressmen, particularly Trey Gowdy and Ted Poe, talked up their backgrounds as prosecutors and tried to falsely equate Strzok’s role in the investigation to that of a juror or judge in a criminal case as if they never harbored any bad feelings about defendants they’ve investigated during their careers. Their conclusion that Strzok couldn’t possibly check his opinions at the door and do his job was a blatant failure to recognize the irony that they are conducting an investigation while they harbor a strong political bent.
Strzok, though, held steady. And so later in the afternoon, the Republicans went personal, with a dentist attempting to speculate on his body language and others accusing him of lying under oath.
It was Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert who went in for the kill shot.
“You’ve embarrassed yourself and I can’t help but wonder when I see you looking there with a little smirk, how many times did you look so innocent into your wife’s eyes and lie to her about Lisa Page,” Gohmert said, sending the hearing into further madness.
It was stunning Gohmert’s head didn’t explode, considering he seems to believe every word uttered by a twice-divorced president who has had numerous affairs and appears to have had a porn star paid off right before the election to conceal one to his current wife and the American people; one who has demeaned the physical appearance of many women, made an abortion joke about one of his daughters to Howard Stern and sexualized another daughter.
Strzok’s infidelity was certainly a moral failure. We all have them to varying degrees. But the details of his affair, its impact on his family and whether or not he and his wife have reconciled (I have no idea and don’t care) is none of our business. But it’s probably useless to try to explain that to Gohmert, who lives in a country where there is no shortage of people who will throw their rocks from behind the Cross.
As far as his professional life, Strzok is an American patriot who has devoted his career in service to and to protecting our country. He was instrumental in busting up an extensive ring of longtime Russian spies who were posing as American citizens and it was clear why he would be needed on the Russia investigation. Gohmert seems devoted to carrying on in service of a narcissistic pathological liar, and others like Handel are either following suit or are willing to take a nap while our institutions are further corroded. The banana republic-like charade Thursday was, as Strzok put it, “just another victory notch in Putin’s belt and another milestone in our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart.”
The events of the next few days clarified that in a large way.
Friday, on the day that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team handed down a grand jury indictment of 12 Russians for a deliberate, coordinated attack on our election, Trump, who had already been briefed of the indictments, continued to call the whole thing a rigged witch hunt. He either didn’t understand that the interference and his campaign participating in it aren’t necessarily the same thing, or he didn’t care to differentiate.
And then Monday in Helsinki, after a two-hour private meeting with the murderous despot he admires, the president didn’t just defer to Putin’s lies and defer to him at every turn. He didn’t just throw our entire intelligence community under the bus. He violated his oath of office to protect us against all enemies, foreign and domestic, by giving comfort and aid to an enemy, and he should be censured or even impeached accordingly.
His performance was widely condemned, even by Republicans who have backed him or been indifferent. But for them to tweet out disagreement and rejection is one thing. They have the power to do something about it. I’m not holding my breath that they will.
I have long bemoaned the nature of our political system where we are mostly reduced to two choices in party. I have supported candidates from both sides but never belonged to any party. I have long believed it takes great compromise to move this country forward, and if a Democrat becomes the next president, I would in no way consider our country’s multitude of problems solved. I worry that today’s havoc will give the Democratic Party license to move further and further to the left and cut out independent, moderate voices entirely from our discourse.
But as the televised kangaroo court showed last week, until the GOP wakes up from its slumber, rids itself of its xenophobia, paranoia and penchant for alternative facts and realities, and stands up to this utter embarrassment of a commander-in-chief, we’ve been reduced to one viable option if we want to restore stability and sanity to this nation.
—
Scott Thompson is editor of the Barrow News-Journal. He can be reached at sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com.

I spent several hours last week watching the Peter Strozk show and reading reports on the interview.
I’m referring to a joint Congressional House Judiciary and Oversight Committee hearing that had Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent Peter Strzok testifying before members of Congress.
Agent Strzok is suspected of being a member of the “Deep State” and is accused of demonstrating and harboring an antagonistic bias against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Strzok moved to the head of the list after the FBI’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report indicated the FBI agent had exchanged text messages that “potentially indicated or created the appearance that investigative decisions were impacted by bias or improper considerations.”
As the FBI’s chief of the counterespionage section, Strzok led the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email on a private server while conducting official government business.
He also played a key role in the bureau’s investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Prior to last week’s hearing, Strzok’s rise to fame came when he confirmed he sent a text to a FBI lawyer that they would “stop” Trump becoming president.
During the questioning, congressional committee chairman Bob Goodlatte asked Strzok if he had turned over all emails and text to the oversight committee. The agent replied that he had an agreement to only turn over relevant documents.
We don’t know how many other documents that may have pertained to in the investigation of the FBI that were not turned over. His statement sounds like a page from Clinton’s investigation. He even admitted that he made a number of decisions on what was pertinent to the Inspector General and what he did not turn over.
It’s safe to say that an everyday Joe under investigation by the bureau would never be able to tell a hearing or the bureau that they would decide what emails and texts they would turnover and which ones they would not.
As a side note, don’t forget that Strzok, and former directors Jim Comey and Robert Mueller are all friends and have extensive years in the Bureau of working together.
It was obvious throughout the hearing that Strzock despises Trump but we can be assured his hatred did not affect his investigative judgments and decisions. We can believe that because Strzok said more than once under oath that it didn’t!
He also made a point to say that he would not lie about any aspect of the investigation.
When asked about a statement he made regarding his ability to “smell Trump supporters at a Walmart store,” he clarified that what he was saying was that he could hear or see Trump supporters.
It was discovered that Strzok also said he “…loathed Congress…” but, again, he clarified the concern saying he had the “utmost respect” for the elected body.
He is also the agent who was accused of saying a group would “stop” Trump from getting elected and he allegedly stated that other top FBI officials would develop “an insurance policy” in case Trump was elected.
Strzok wrote a number of other things to his girlfriend, also an FBI lawyer, in various forms of media but last week he said he really didn’t mean them.
The hearing did not project that as an acceptable explanation at all.
During my public safety career, I’ve had the opportunity to interview thousands of people, mostly criminals, some of which were quite dangerous.
The person we saw sitting and responding to the questions was a liar and a dangerous man.
During the hearing which was a live broadcast, I spent considerable time watching Strzok’s body language and facial expressions. Often times, he was verbally belligerent, hostile and angry. There were no attempts to hide his hostility.
His facial expressions reflected those same hostile attributes. Sometimes, he appeared to be conniving and more than once he had the dangerous look of a cornered wild animal.
Our country is lucky the Inspector General was able to recover what it did because it defines a serious threat to this nation.
Listening to the testimony, re-reading the testimony and on observing FBI Agent Strzok during the Congressional hearing was more than enough to raise serious concerns on both sides of the aisle. We may never know how close to the edge of disaster this man and his cohorts carried our country.
There is one certainty from the week: we must now carefully map where we go from here.
—
Jimmy Terrell is retired from a career in law enforcement and is a Winder city councilman. He can be reached at ejterrell65@gmail.com.

PORTLAND ORE. — This city is like everything you’ve probably heard. Amid the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, Portland sits along two rivers below the snowcapped Mt. Hood, about 1.5 hours from the Pacific coast. It’s an outdoor lover’s playground. Hiking, biking, surfing, kayaking top the area’s adventures.
Portland itself is hilly and green. Spreading conifer trees blanket the town. Green shrubs are ubiquitous.
This greenery reflects a larger cultural aspect of Portland as one of the nation’s most environmentally-conscious cities. That dates back to the 1970s and a mayor who made environmentalism a community priority.
A small example of that is the open disdain shown toward bottled water. I’m here for a conference held at Lewis & Clarke College. It’s a small liberal arts college that sits on a plateau amid dense greenery just south of downtown. On the first day, a college official tsk-tsk’d a group of plastic bottled water bottles sitting on a table to be used by conference speakers. She left the room and returned with a handful of silver, reusable water bottles. The clear plastic water bottles were stashed to the side under a large window, forgotten and unused.
“It’s like that here,” said an old newspaper friend sitting next to me. He hails from Minnoseta, but had retired to Portland to be close to family. Environmental issues, he said, were very important in Portland.
That local emphasis on environmentalism reflects the larger political culture here which leans heavily liberal. Portland is a diverse community of varying ethnic groups and ages. It is popular among young hipsters and also among older retirees who are flocking to the area.
Rural areas of eastern Oregon lean conservative. It was in rural eastern Oregon that a group of right-wing, anti-federal government militia groups took over a bird sanctuary a few years ago to protest the conviction of a local rancher on federal arson charges.
But Portland is not of that political persuasion. You can get a sense of the town’s strong liberal bent in Portland’s most famous landmark, Powell’s Books. The store covers an entire city block downtown and claims to be the world’s largest book store.
Here, locals and tourists alike flock to shop along row after row of both new and used books. It’s a true polyglot of people reflecting every race, religion, creed and sexual orientation, a cross-slice of America at-large. Featured book selections by the store tend to reflect that diversity and the town’s liberal values.
While traversing the massive store, my back began hurting, so I found a bench to sit for a while. Next to me was an older man who pulled out his phone and turned on a video as I sat down. The video was of President Trump speaking at what sounded like one of his political rallies.
The man didn’t have earphones and he turned up the phone’s volume so that anyone nearby could hear the president’s anti-something rhetoric. It came out as a screeching sound from the phone’s tiny speaker, not unlike fingernails across a blackboard.
It’s wasn’t clear why he was playing the video so loud. Perhaps the man felt surrounded by too much diversity and liberalism in the store so he wanted to create a safe space for himself.
That liberal political culture in Portland has led to what some think is too much group-think mentality. In a letter to the editor in the Portland newspaper, a high school student lamented the lack of conservative and Republican voices on his school’s campus. While declaring himself to be politically liberal, he said he’d like to talk with and debate those with other views, but that if there are any Republican students, they don’t speak out and remain silent in the face of an overwhelming liberal environment, he said.
Perhaps the student should seek out the man at the bookstore for a chat.
While Portland may be a liberal nirvana politically and an outdoorsman’s dream, the town is not without problems. I noticed a lot of closed storefronts downtown, perhaps a sign of changing retail habits.
Even more noticeable was Portland’s large homeless population. You see homeless encampments in the trees along local interstate rights-of-way. Downtown streets have a large number of ragged homeless people, some obviously mentally unstable.
On one downtown street corner, there was a verbal dispute between a homeless man and two passersby. The man had spread his stuff all over the sidewalk and became upset when a man and woman had to step over a pizza box to cross the street.
Up in a tourist area downtown where the sidewalk is lined with food carts, homeless beggars had set up shop. One man carrying two backpacks went slowly from trash box to trash box, opening the door and digging through the discarded food.
A story in Portland’s newspaper reported about the large number of police interactions with the town’s homeless population. So what, said a following letter to the editor — at least cops were getting some of the homeless people off the streets for a while.
A lot of large American cities have a problem with homeless people, many of whom are mentally ill. The options for dealing with that are few, unless we’re going to turn our law enforcement and jails into mental health providers.
Still, I found the homeless problem in Portland, one of the nation’s most environmentally sensitive cities, jarring. You have to wonder about the priorities in a place where great care is taken to not use plastic water bottles, but where so little appears to be done to get homeless people off the streets and into shelters or treatment facilities.
Maybe there isn’t a solution. But in a liberal city where human welfare is supposed to be a political priority, the amount of homelessness in Portland calls into question the ability of the town’s leadership to practice what its preaches.
The discarding of human beings onto the streets is no less of an ecological, environmental and social issue than putting plastic bottles into a landfill.
—
Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.

A very famous person once said that. A famous person who adored cats, and was reported to keep 40 or 50 of them around most of the time.
The famous person was Ernest Hemingway…a man after my own heart! He was very proud of his cat collection and affectionately called them his “purr factory.”
Visitors to his home often told of kitties, kitties everywhere, in every room, on the beds, and on the tables!
While he was in Cuba, his cat collection grew, and it was here that he first became the owner of polydactyl, or multi-toed, kitties. Hemingway believed, along with sailors, that polydactyl cats were good luck.
In the 1930s, Hemingway lived in Key West, Fla., and there’s a museum that’s open to the public. There are reportedly around 40 cats, mostly polydactyls, currently living at the museum. One of my friends visited there recently, and confirmed that there are, indeed, multiple kitties on the premises.
What fun! During the last hurricane that came over Key West, it was reported that the caretaker refused to evacuate, and stayed on the museum grounds in order to make sure the kitties were cared for during the storm. That’s true kitty dedication!
He truly was a man after my own heart. In my perfect world, I would have kitties, kitties everywhere! I would rescue all the poor, pitiful kitties who have no home, and no one to care for them. All the ferals from all over the world, and all the kitties in all the shelters. Yes, I would rescue them all, if I could.
What seems like a fun, quirky collection of a very famous man seems like craziness to the normal person. (Define normal… haha.)
Saving and loving all the kitties of the world is not a reality for anyone, and though I wish it could be so, I’m limited by space as well as resources.
There is plenty of room in my heart for it, but I have to settle for saving the few that I can. When I moved back to my home six years ago, the first thing I did was start looking for a new kitty. I found my sweet Cooper through the Jackson County Humane Society, and it was love at first sight. I wept when he was placed in my arms and the kind lady said, “Honey, you need him as much as he needs you.”
So, it was the classic case of “Who Rescued Who.” Within a year, I decided he needed a playmate, so I began my search for a calico kitty. I’ve had several in the past, and while I love all kitties, there is something special about calicos. I found a little tortie-calico at the Athens Humane Society and called about her. I was told there were many calls already, and if I wanted her, I needed to come fill out the paperwork and pay the adoption fees.
What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with one of her litter-mates. So, I filled out paperwork for two kittens! There were seven kittens in the litter, and amazingly, six of them were polydactyl!
Between those two kitties, they have about 53 toes! It’s so adorable. Scout looks like she could hold a coke bottle with her extra “thumb.”
Three kitties is enough, right? That’s what I thought and had absolutely no intention of having another kitty in my home. Unbeknownst to me, one of my neighbors up the street took in a stray kitty, and unbeknownst to him, she was pregnant!
I knew nothing of these kittens until another neighbor called and said he was taking me for a golf cart ride up the road. David and DJ just grinned at me as we went up the road. He finally told me we were going to see kittens.
When I asked if one was a calico, DJ just cut her eyes and tried to hide a smile. Soon as we drove up in the driveway, five or six little balls of puff ran toward us.
All but one of them had dark hair. Then there was that little white multi-colored face that popped up above all the dark-haired kitties…And I was gone.
I fell in love right there on the spot. DJ and David knew if I ever laid eyes on her, it was a done deal. A few weeks later I brought her home, and she has been a wonderful addition to my family. She is the sweetest, meanest, most playful, destructive little love muffin, with teeth like swords and claws like needles.
It has been a while since I’ve had a kitten that young, so it has been a little rough. My arms and hands are shredded, but she is slowly beginning to understand that this behavior is not acceptable and very un-ladylike! She is an absolutely beautiful specimen, and deserves her very own kitten calendar. Stop by my Facebook page sometime if you don’t believe me!
Now if I can just get the other three kitties on board. They’re still a bit standoffish and pretty annoyed with me for disrupting things at home.
If I could speak kitty language, I’d remind them that they were once the newbies and we all learned to get along together. Yes, one cat just leads to another.
While my heart is always open, I’m afraid my doors are closed, as there is no room in the inn for any more paws and whiskers.
Famous last words from The Crazy Cat Lady.
—
Cathy Watkins Bennett is a Barrow County native and a graduate of Winder-Barrow High School. Send comments about this column to
bencath@aol.com.

An update on Ms. Doris McLocklin. She is now at High Shoals Rehab. That address is 3450 New High Shoals Road, Bishop, Ga. 30621. She would love to receive cards from you. Her room number is 54.
I’d like to wish a big happy birthday to my son, Ross Jacks. It was a tough weekend. He always celebrated with his dad and we lost him five years ago to cancer.
My safety tip for this week is don’t forget your pets. Don’t leave them in hot cars and please give them plenty of water to drink.
—
With summertime comes wonderful fresh veggies. I grew up on a farm so I grew up eating fresh veggies. I’m always looking for new ways to cook them. I have a few new recipes to share with you this week to cook the veggies you find in your local grocery stores.
Scalloped Veggie Bake
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini, washed
3 medium potatoes, washed and peeled
5 carrots, washed and peeled
4 medium eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Salt to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 10-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper. Carefully slice the zucchini, potatoes and carrots very thinly with a sharp knife, watch your fingers.
In a large bowl combine the eggs, melted butter and milk and whisk until combined. Add the nutmeg, basil, thyme, salt, pepper and flour and whisk well. Add the sliced veggies to the batter and stir well until the slices are well coated. Add half the vegetables and flatten with a spoon. Sprinkle cheese over vegetables. Top with the remaining vegetables and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours until vegetables are fully cooked and tender. Let cool for about 10 minutes and release from spring-form pan. Slice and serve.
—
I love cauliflower raw and look for ways of cooking it, too. Found this great recipe that is really good. Great way to avoid eating all those potatoes and putting on extra pounds. Tasty and healthy.
Cauliflower
Potato Salad
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 Tbsps. olive oil
3 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
Dressing
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsps. dill, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Slice cauliflower into small florets. Place cauliflower onto baking sheet and season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 25 mins or until lightly browned and a bit crispy.
In a large bowl combine all dressing ingredients and set aside.
Once cauliflower is cooked set aside and let cool slightly. Dice eggs, onion and celery.
In a large bowl combine cauliflower, eggs, onion, celery and dressing. Garnish with more freshly chopped dill before serving.
—
The only way I’ve ever cooked eggplant is to either just fry it or make parmesan with it. I love the taste of it so when a friend gave me this new recipe I had to try it. It’s a keeper. It’s really good.
Roasted
Eggplant Curry
Ingredients
3 medium eggplants
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper plus more to taste
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. ground turmeric
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ginger
3 Roma tomatoes, ripe, diced, medium size
15 oz. coconut milk
1/2 cup water
Cooked rice for serving
Fresh cilantro chopped for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Slice tops off the eggplants then slice them lengthwise. Cut each half once more lengthwise. Lay the slices on their flat sides and cut lengthwise into thirds. Finally slice horizontally to form cubes. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until golden brown.
In a large saucepan heat the coconut oil over high heat. Add onions. Stir for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cardamom, and smoked paprika. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the ground coriander, 1/2 tsp. of black pepper, turmeric, garlic and ginger. Cook for a few minutes more, stirring constantly. Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, water and roasted eggplant. Bring the curry to a simmer then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. The sauce should reduce and thicken slightly. Serve the curry warm over rice topped with chopped cilantro.
—
Nothing better with chips than fresh guacamole. Add a few more ingredients and you have a wonderful dip.
Tex Mex Guacamole
Ingredients
2 avocados, pitted, peeled and diced
1/2 cup corn, cooked
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained
1 lime, juiced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Tortilla chips to serve
Directions
In a medium bowl combine the avocado, corn, red onion, jalapeño, black beans, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together until fully incorporated.
Serve with tortilla chips.
—
Joyce Jacks is a native of Barrow County and a graduate of Winder-Barrow High School, Athens Technical College, and the University of Georgia. She can be reached at georgiagirl2424@yahoo.com.